oncology
Americannoun
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the branch of medical science dealing with tumors, including the origin, development, diagnosis, and treatment of malignant neoplasms.
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the study of cancer.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of oncology
Explanation
Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with tumors and cancer. A doctor who practices oncology is called an oncologist. You probably think of cancer treatment as a modern practice, but the word oncology has its roots in ancient Greek. The prefix onkos means "mass or bulk” (and eventually evolved into the modern Latin onco — meaning tumor) and the suffix logy means “study of.” In theory, the word means “the study of tumors.” More often, though, you will hear oncology in relation to treatment and practical medicine, as opposed to just study or research.
Vocabulary lists containing oncology
The Fault in Our Stars
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National Nurses Week: Medical Branches and Conditions
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This Week In Culture: October 17–23, 2020
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lilly’s chief financial officer, Lucas Montarce, told Barron’s in April that the company was focused on four main growth areas: oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and a final category encompassing cardiometabolic health and diabetes.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
GSK’s oncology business is small but growing, helped by sales of an immunotherapy called Jemperli.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
That could include chief medical officers and chief nursing officers, as well as heads of surgery, emergency rooms, oncology, obstetrics, cardiology and other specialties, they say.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Novartis also was the counterparty in the complicated 2014 deal in which GSK swapped its oncology portfolio for the Swiss firm’s vaccines business.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
A distinction is thus drawn between cysts and growths—one which is of daily importance in the practice of medicine—and Virchow's oncology includes the consideration of the two varieties of tumors.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
